IN THE MAGIC LAND OF WHAT’S TO BE

When I have a momentary spell of feeling the world’s weight on my shoulders and the Beloved isn’t around, I turn to the wise spiritual counsel of Doctor Thomas Waller — here, in 1934, singing HAVE A LITTLE DREAM ON ME, by Phil Baxter, music; John P. Murray, lyrics, with the name of Billy Rose added to the lyric credits:

This song makes me think of the optimism that people deep in the Great Depression had to muster to keep afloat — the revolution wasn’t coming any time soon — and music might have been one of the most ready, if transitory, palliatives for gloom.

We still need this buoyancy in our lives. The Big Bad Wolf is always ready to pounce, with dire financial news, terrifying medical results, baskets full of disappointments.

I can only hope that your dreams remain so brightly-colored, so tangible, that you can close your eyes and have them appear at will.